ROME, Ga. – The Erskine College women's soccer team (1-1-1, 0-1-1 CC) picked up a point with a 1-1 draw against Shorter University (1-2-1, 0-1-1 CC) at Ben Brady Field on Wednesday evening in the Fleet's road opener.

Freshman forward Selma McMurry opened her Erskine account with a goal inside the first ten minutes to give the Fleet the lead, but a late Hawks goal meant Erskine was forced to settle with a draw.

THE ESSENTIALS 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming off a home loss over the weekend, Erskine came flying out of the gates in its first road game of the 2024 season. Rebekah Wiles forced a save from the Shorter goalkeeper inside the first 90 seconds of the match. The Fleet's continued dominance was eventually rewarded in the tenth minute when Sarah Barrientos won back possession in midfield and started what was a nice passing move by Erskine through its midfield until Ara Acha was played in behind the Hawks defense down the right side. Acha took on another Hawks defender and got to the byline before chipping a ball toward the back post, where Selma McMurry eventually poked home a goalmouth scrum to give Erskine a deserved early 1-0 lead. Shorter had just one shot in the first half and it was off target, so the Fleet went to the break still in front by a goal. The Fleet defended well for most of the second half, while Jordan Schuhlein and Alex Cockrell each had shots on target inside the final 15 minutes as the Fleet looked to put the game away. But, the score remained 1-0 until the hosts found an equalizer in the 86th minute with just their second shot on frame of the match. The Fleet had a couple of corner kicks in search of a winner in the final seconds but had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their road opener.

THE PLAYER
Ara Acha played the full 90 minutes and assisted the Fleet's goal with a brilliant cross to the back post in the 10th minute to give Erskine an early lead. Acha, a junior defender from Santander, Spain in her first season with the Fleet, has assisted both Erskine goals so far this year.

THE TEAM
Erskine outshot Shorter 10 to 5 and the Fleet held a 7 to 2 advantage in shots on target.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine visits Barton College (3-1-1, 0-0 CC) this weekend, with the match scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

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